Hey Guys,
Long time lurker on BP, and active investor in the Triangle area for last 3 years. As prices continue to skyrocket in Durham, Morrisville, Cary, and others, we have expanded our radius to find profitable opportunities elsewhere. There was a relatively new builder in High Point, NC (Keystone) that sold many townhome units to investors there and the Winston-Salem, NC area (both areas experienced significant HPA). They advised Mebane, NC is another area for opportunity. Any one had experience in this market near Tanger Outlets? Any idea of what achievable rents could be for 2 bed/2bath townhomes/SFR?
If you cannot afford to invest in prime locations, there is nothing wrong with looking in more affordable places. It's very common as prices go up in major cities, that people start looking into surrounding towns and start bringing those prices up as well. You might not get the same appreciation or return on your investment but that does not mean that you should not invest in those places. I believe every investor have to start somewhere.
There is opportunity in every market, you just have to find it and make it work.
But do not look at the rent as the only key to invest. In my opinion, cheap properties are just not as lucrative. You still need to upkeep the property and the money you have to put in, you might never recover on the property price appreciation.
I always want to make sure, that if i need to sell property, that i wont loose money on it. So just because you get extra $100 on cashflow, it might not be the best deal if you decide to sell 5 years later.
BRRRR strategy is great if you don't have unlimited source of income and want to grow your portfolio on its own. In that case, appreciation is more valuable than cashflow.
If you cannot afford to invest in prime locations, there is nothing wrong with looking in more affordable places. It's very common as prices go up in major cities, that people start looking into surrounding towns and start bringing those prices up as well. You might not get the same appreciation or return on your investment but that does not mean that you should not invest in those places. I believe every investor have to start somewhere.
There is opportunity in every market, you just have to find it and make it work.
But do not look at the rent as the only key to invest. In my opinion, cheap properties are just not as lucrative. You still need to upkeep the property and the money you have to put in, you might never recover on the property price appreciation.
I always want to make sure, that if i need to sell property, that i wont loose money on it. So just because you get extra $100 on cashflow, it might not be the best deal if you decide to sell 5 years later.
BRRRR strategy is great if you don't have unlimited source of income and want to grow your portfolio on its own. In that case, appreciation is more valuable than cashflow.
@Ravi B. I don't have any experience out in Mebane but I think as far as exploring different areas it all depends on what your goals are....cash flow, appreciation, etc? Different strategies are likely to favor different areas. For cash flow, you are right, the rent:price ratio in Raleigh and surrounding towns is not great and it is going to be very difficult to cash flow these places, however, the appreciation in these areas is great. Also, remember that the reason the prices are so high is that these areas are incredibly desirable, which means you will likely have a different caliber of tenant and property than in some of the "cheaper" markets which could mean fewer challenges as a landlord. It just depends on what is important to you.
If your goal is strictly cash flow, I would look at the Fayetteville and Sanford markets. Both are great rental markets with relatively low purchase prices and good rental rates. Fayetteville is not great for appreciation but you can buy an inexpensive property there that cash flows really well.
It also depends on how you are searching for properties? There are still good deals to be had in Raleigh/Durham but having a good agent or wholesaler to help you find off market deals will give you a huge advantage. Perhaps you don't need to go to other areas before you try exploring different ways of finding deals or different investment strategies? Either way you can make money just about anywhere so I would focus on figuring out what pros and cons are most important to you. Message me if I can help with anything.
Good points, and will take into consideration. We have primarily purchased new construction over the years, and now looking to get a mix of cash flow & appreciation. Thought Mebane was particularly interesting given proximity to RTP, and new developments coming there. Also, figure people that can work remotely may be looking for an area with slightly cheaper rents than RTP area. I def need to do more research on how to find off-market deals/locating an agent that has access to that information. Thanks for the input!
Thank you for this thread, I'm new to investing in general and a new resident here in the Triangle and this question has been on my mind pretty much verbatim.
I'm also curious about the towns that neighbor Raleigh's east border (towards Knightdale and Wendell) specifically for rentals and BRRRR investments.